The Hardest Part of the Filming Process

   So, now that we really are moving towards the end of our two minute movie project. We are now in the editing stage, in which to me, is the hardest part of the whole process. Being that Josh is so much more tech-savvy than Amelia and I. We decided to let him take over a good majority of the editing process. Looking back to our first project of the year (the commercial) Josh actually filmed and edited the entire short film and he did great, so we instilled our trust in him again. We are watching over him very keenly being we are the females of the group, everything we say still goes. LOL. In our movie opener we have decided to use a lot more editing tricks this time around, including things like: sound effects and etc.. While Josh hasn't been to school, he hasn't said much on the actual process which can be concerning. We just want to make sure our film is ready for peer editing next week.
  With all this being said, going back to some of the editing tools we want to touch base on. These things definitely include split screens, cross cutting, and a lot of fading.  I am super excited to see what this film will turn out to be. I really love the fact that we have a chance for peer review and then getting the opportunity to re-shoot and re-edit our videos before turning them in. Editing is hard for me because I do not know everything surround technology let along how to edit things into a program. We do have a set editing software available at school, Pinnacle Studios, but it never seems to work. For the last few projects we actually didn't use that software at all; we tried to dump our clips and it went super slow. In the past we have used, IMovie and Adobe Flash as editing software. But this time around we are taking a little bit of a different approach.

Not your Typical Filming Day

 So, this past weekend; a lot and I mean a lot of turn of events happened for my group and I. To start before we began to film, we contacted Amina to make sure she was still on board to film with us this past weekend. And to our surprise (not surprising at all) she could not film with us. So that already set us back two steps. Once everyone arrived we had to come up with plan B, in the end it worked out; just keep reading along. The next unexpected turn of events was the weather! We anticipated to be nice and hot and sunny considering we live in South Florida. But our filming day was filled with heavy rain that was on and off for two hours. We would film one scene then the rain would begin, it'll rain again and then we waited about ten minutes in between each scene. Luckily most of our scenes ended up to inside.
  The biggest thing we realized was that we were ill prepared so we didn't have much coming into filming day. Not as much as we should have. As filming progressed we basically started to go against everything our storyboard was originally planned out as. And as that happened, the science fiction theme we were so confident about, began to fade in each scene. Our film actually turned fro sci-fi to thriller in the matter one scene. So in the end we knew that we had to now switch the genre of our movie opener. Luckily we do not have to change anything in our old blogs. But from here on out our final task is thriller. With filming done we have began to edit to ensure we all set for our peer editing day coming up in about a week. After that, we will re-shoot and re-edit and perfect our film.

Filming Blog: But No Film!

  Coming up on our last few weeks of our final task in AICE Media, we had the opportunity to film our two minute movie this weekend. This past weekend, we actually did not film our project; due to the holiday. We are somewhat upset about it and feel as if we are a step behind some of the other groups. I believe that we sort of needed that little break, so that we could really get not only our storyboard in good shape, but our actual story line behind the movie. Now that we have them both down pack, we are prepared and aware of our film day this weekend! LITERALLY no games are being played from the time we start to the time we stop filming. Once we start to really get in the groove everything is going to flow perfectly. From past filming experiences, a lot of things do end up changing on filming day. Sometimes we run into some really unexpected turn of events and then we have to think quick on our feet. For example during our commercial we actually had nowhere to film and quickly came up with a solution.
  Considering we have the same group members from our very first project. We already know each others strengths and weaknesses when it comes to our whole film making process. We are really looking forward to this movie because, the concept is definitely there and we can't wait to pull it off. One thing I will say about my group is, we can be last minute at doing things and I feel like something is going to come up on filming day and interrupt filming. Josh is soooo excited to get his hands on the editing part of the film. And Amelia and I are looking forward to directing and bossing him around. We are bringing in one of our heavy hitters to the team and that is Amina but she has currently left AICE Media but we still need her personality as one of the characters. The only thing we have not gotten around to is, costumes and props. Once the filming is done, the following week we have a peer review session and we actually get to showcase our work to other groups. That leaves us little time for filming and editing our film to the best of its ability the first time around. So time to get to work.

Planning Blog: Storyboard

As we approach the final step before, it is time to construct our movie. We must storyboard the way we imagine our entire two-minute film playing out. So below, is a power point of a collection of scenes that we have drawn out to vividly follow once we move into filming.  Scene by scene we include foot notes of the angles, shots, and sounds we want to include in the the project. Story boarding is a great process because, instead of us going into filming day trying to come up with things on the spot. We are able to do verbatim of what our storyboard lays put for us. Another thing about the process is you are able to change things in case something does not go as planned on filming day. From our previous projects, our group and I almost never  followed our storyboard. We kind of thought on the spot and went against what our whole storyboard said. Lastly once we begin our filming process next week, being that this video is a lot longer than any of our other projects. We will be referring back to the story board a lot.

Planning Blog: Title design in details

In the presentation below, I explained how I will be setting up my titles. In order for my group and I to put our film together we must follow a guideline showing how we will edit in our titles. I included how the first title will look when it pops up. I also included the different colors, spacing, contrast, and the final title of our movie. This is important because the viewers need to be able to see the actual text. It is also important because the text is what will set the mood for the film. The size and positioning of the font is also important. I also included the final title of the film. This lets Cambridge know what our film will be called. If we end up changing the title, we will go back and change it in the presentation.

Planning Blog: Location, participants, health, and schedule

In order for my group and I to create our two minute opening, we must plan out what we need to do. So, we have been given planning blogs which allow us to master our plan. Inserted below is a slide presentation I created explaining the location, participants, health and safety and the schedule. The presentation includes where we will be filming so that Cambridge knows specifically where the filming will be taking place and we will be filming. The presentation also lets them know who will be in the film. I listed who will be acting, who will be directing, who will be filming and who will edit the final product. This lets Cambridge know who will do what. I also included information about health and safety. This is important because Cambridge needs to know how we will film our film safely despite the genre that we are doing. This presentation will help my group members and I organize ourselves in order for us to put our film together.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Before the final project comes to a closing, every detail for this two-minute opening must be planned out thoroughly. To do so we have been assigned several blogs beginning with the Sound and Shooting script. These scripts go hand in hand on how to produce and direct a successful film. Inserted below is a shooting script created by me in a slide presentation along with the help of my group members. This script contains every movement that will take place in the film whether it be camera angles, camera movements, or even the movement from the actors. The script also consists of brief noting of the location of where each scene of the opening will take place. Lightning, an element keenly used in film making, is included because it helps the viewers assess that there is a significance in the mood trying to be brought out. There are also a few details of different editing that will be done in certain scenes to enhance the effect our movie genre brings when being watched. The shooting script, however, does not mention literal dialogue or sound effects because that is recorded in the sound script. With the separation between sound and movement, it makes it easier for my group and me to film our final project with ease and comfort. This will result in us being able to produce something our Cambridge graders and teachers will enjoy watching later on.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Moving on to the next phase of our two minute opener, we are now begging to plan the entire film. In this part of our journey it is all about the planning of what is going to go into the film.  What you see below is the sound and dialogue script that includes every sound or conversation in the movie. This particular script excludes every thing other than sound or dialogue (i.e. camera movements, camera angles, editing tools, etc...). We have constructed a quite easy/simple sound script. We will only have three characters and it will be the same group members (Charli, Amelia, and Amina) playing the roles of our imaginary characters. Some scenes actually do not include dialogue because we really want our viewers to focus on the concept behind the movie opener. We plan on strictly following this script so that we can avoid going back to change it. But anything can happen so if something comes up on the spot then we will modify. Lastly, the sound script will simply make filming a lot smoother and easier; knowing that we have an outline.